Senate Bill NO. 2860

By Representative(s) Committee

SECTION 1. (1) Subject to the availability of funding for such purpose, the State Superintendent of Public Education shall employ within the State Department of Education or, in the alternative, contract with the Mississippi Military Department for a statewide coordinator for Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (JROTC) programs in the public schools. If employed by the State Department of Education, the JROTC statewide coordinator must be an active or retired member of the military and must meet any additional qualifications that may be established for the position by the State Superintendent of Public Education or State Personnel Board.

(2) The following are the powers and duties of the JROTC statewide coordinator:

(a) To coordinate training of new JROTC instructors and continuing education programs for certified instructors;

(b) To facilitate communication between JROTC programs in the various public schools;

(c) To assist in organizing competitions among JROTC units from different high schools;

(d) To assist in the development of the JROTC curriculum;

(e) To compile information on scholarships available to JROTC participants and to solicit support for such scholarships;

(f) To assist in establishing support groups for parents of students participating in a JROTC program;

(g) To solicit financial support for JROTC programs from private sector donors;

(h) To promote the involvement of JROTC units within their local communities;

(i) To facilitate interaction between JROTC units and the Mississippi National Guard and Mississippi Air National Guard;

(j) To promote, in general, the JROTC program in high schools throughout the state;

(k) To assist local schools with the application process for establishing new JROTC programs in high schools; and

(l) To perform such other duties relating to the JROTC program established by the State Superintendent of Public Education or State Board of Education.

SECTION 2. The State Board of Education shall study the issues relating to the funding of Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (JROTC) and the licensing of JROTC instructors. In studying the licensing issue, the board shall consider the credentials required for certification as a JROTC instructor. The board shall present a report on its findings concerning these issues along with any other issues related to JROTC to the Chairman of the Education Committees of the House of Representatives and Senate before December 15, 2001, which report must include recommended legislation necessary to effectuate the board's recommendations relating to JROTC.

SECTION 3. Subject to the availability of funding appropriated specifically for such purpose, there is established within the State Department of Education a Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (JROTC) grant program available to public schools to assist in financing JROTC programs. The school board of a local school district may apply annually to the department on behalf of a high school or high schools within that district which have a JROTC program for a grant in the amount of Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00) for each JROTC program per school year. The department shall create a grant application form and shall designate the date by which applications must be received by the department. In order to be eligible for a grant under the program during any school year, the school district or high school receiving the grant must agree to provide to the school's JROTC program Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00), in addition to an amount equal to the local funding allocated to the program in the 2000-2001 school year, from local school funds. Funds received through the JROTC grant program may be used for expenses associated with a high school's JROTC program, including: supplies; travel costs for students and instructors on official JROTC sponsored trips or attending JROTC functions; instructional materials; JROTC uniforms; official JROTC sponsored social events; and any other expenses incurred in the operations of the JROTC program.

SECTION 4. (1) There is established a Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) scholarship program, the purpose of which is to encourage and aid eligible high school graduates to continue their participation in an ROTC program while pursuing a college education.

(2) Beginning in the 2005-2006 school year, any student classified as a freshman at a baccalaureate degree-granting institution of higher learning in the state accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools and approved by the Mississippi Commission on College Accreditation or an accredited, nonprofit community or junior college in the state who graduated from a high school in Mississippi and who maintained a 2.00 grade point average calculated on a 4.00 scale in a Junior ROTC program for four (4) years in high school may apply for a scholarship under this program. An application must be accompanied by written letters of recommendation from the principal and Junior ROTC instructor of the high school from which the applicant graduated and any other information that may be required pursuant to rules or regulations established under subsection (5) of this section. In order to be eligible for a scholarship, an applicant must enroll in the first year of a two-year or four-year ROTC program at the institution in which the applicant is enrolled or accepted for enrollment.

(3) The maximum annual scholarship that may be awarded to a student under this program is One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00) per academic year. For purposes of this section, the term "academic year" means August 1 through the next succeeding July 31. The Junior ROTC scholarship is additional to any other scholarship or financial aid that the student receives, except for awards made under the Mississippi Resident Tuition Assistance Grant Program created under Section 37-106-29 or the Mississippi Eminent Scholars Grant Program created under Section 37-106-31, and may be used for any expenses associated with the student pursuing a higher education. A student may not receive more than two (2) annual awards under the Junior ROTC scholarship program.

(4) As a condition for renewal of a scholarship, a student must make steady academic progress toward a certificate or associate or baccalaureate degree, as certified by the institution's registrar, and must maintain a cumulative grade point average of at least 2.50 calculated on a 4.00 scale at the end of each term. In addition, the student must maintain a 3.00 grade point average calculated on a 4.00 scale in the ROTC program.

(5) The Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning and the State Board of Education jointly shall promulgate rules and regulations necessary to carry out the purposes and intent of this section. The Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning shall be the administering agency of the program.

(6) It is the intent of the Legislature to fully fund scholarships to eligible students under this program. If funds are insufficient to fully fund scholarships to all eligible applicants, the board shall award the scholarships to first-time freshman students on a first-come, first-served basis; however, priority consideration must be given to persons previously receiving awards under the program.

SECTION 5. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2001.

AN ACT RELATING TO THE JUNIOR RESERVE OFFICER TRAINING CORPS (JROTC) PROGRAM; TO REQUIRE THE STATE SUPERINTENDENT OF PUBLIC EDUCATION TO EMPLOY OR CONTRACT WITH THE MISSISSIPPI MILITARY DEPARTMENT FOR A STATEWIDE COORDINATOR FOR JROTC PROGRAMS AND TO ESTABLISH THE DUTIES OF THE STATEWIDE COORDINATOR; TO REQUIRE THE STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION TO STUDY ISSUES RELATING TO THE FUNDING OF JROTC AND THE LICENSURE OF JROTC INSTRUCTORS AND TO REQUIRE THE BOARD TO REPORT ITS FINDINGS TO THE EDUCATION COMMITTEES OF THE HOUSE AND SENATE BEFORE THE 2002 SESSION; TO ESTABLISH A JROTC MATCHING GRANT PROGRAM TO ASSIST LOCAL SCHOOLS IN FUNDING JROTC PROGRAMS; TO ESTABLISH A SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM FOR JROTC STUDENTS WHO CONTINUE THEIR PARTICIPATION IN ROTC IN COLLEGE; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.